Blog
Blog
February 21, 2025
Chapter 1: Welcome to AI Wonderland
Or, Why My Brain Is Now a Corporate Battery and I’m Having an Existential Crisis
February 20, 2025
AI & The Project Manager’s Wonderland: A Journey Through Possible Futures
This is a book written by Alina Piddubna, a seasoned project, program, and portfolio management expert, who has been at the forefront of technological transformation in project leadership. It is based on deep professional insights, real-world experience, and forward-looking analysis of how AI is reshaping our work — and ourselves.
January 20, 2025
How Good Project and Program Management Maturity Increases Grant Opportunities
Securing grants from international organizations is a highly competitive process. Organizations offering grants demand not only innovative ideas but also operational reliability. Good project and program management (РРM) maturity plays an important role in convincing donors that a company is capable of delivering results effectively, while ensuring transparency and accountability. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E), Program / project life cycle management, and risk management are key areas where maturity must be demonstrated to maximize grant success. This article describes how organizations can grow their maturity, implement necessary practices, and reflect these capabilities in grant applications to enhance their credibility.
January 9, 2025
Program Management Unveiled: Why It’s More Than Project Management on Steroids
Have you ever wondered why some organizations succeed in achieving strategic goals and objectives, while others falter despite completing numerous projects?
December 30, 2024
The role of project managers is evolving, driven by technological advancements, the rise of megaprojects, and the increasing complexity of global challenges. Alina Piddubna shares her view on the key skills required for success in the coming years, in the context of Ukraine's post-war reconstruction and international collaboration.
December 19, 2024
5 New KPIs for the Modern Projects
In today’s fast-paced world, where technology, innovation, and constant change are the norms, project managers need to measure success in ways that go beyond just being "on time" and "on budget." The projects of today demand metrics that show real value, efficiency, and adaptability. So, how can PMs keep their finger on the pulse of what truly matters? By using these 5 modern KPIs, project managers can ensure their projects stay relevant, impactful, and future-ready.
December 10, 2024
Unconventional Ways to Manage Scope Creep in Fixed-Price IT Projects
Fixed-price IT projects often struggle with scope creep due to poorly defined initial requirements and evolving customer needs. In this article, I explore how adopting an alternative approach can help manage scope creep effectively. Learn practical strategies for delivering value-driven outcomes while keeping changes under control, maintaining customer satisfaction, and ensuring project success.
December 3, 2024
Mastering the Art of Balancing Power and Trust
Project management is the art of balancing people, processes, and objectives. It's not just about task control; it's a delicate dance of power, where you need to be a strategist, a diplomat, and a leader. What does power mean in project management, what types does PMI define, and how can it be applied effectively? Let’s break it down.
December 2, 2024
Project Management Basics: Updated "Basic" Program for Beginners in Project Management
Have you been assigned your first project and don’t know where to start? Maybe you’re thinking, “Everyone expects something from me, but I don’t yet know how to organize everything properly.” If that sounds like you, this training is exactly what you need for a successful start in project management.
December 1, 2024
IT Project Management for Beginners: Your Confident Start to IT Management
Do you want to work as an IT project manager or delivery coordinator? Then our IT Project Management for Beginners course is the perfect place to start your career. This course will help you master the essential skills and strategies needed to effectively manage IT projects.
November 22, 2024
Intensive PMP® Exam Prep Course (ONLINE, EST TIME ZONE)
Prepare for the PMP® (Project Management Professional) certification exam with our comprehensive intensive course. The program is based on the latest PMI Exam Content Outline and years of experience in training project managers for certification.
November 21, 2024
Black Friday at InStar: Discounts on All Courses
From November 25 to 29, 2024, InStar is offering a special deal — 40% off all courses, training programs, and gift certificates for 2025. This is a fantastic opportunity to invest in your professional development, prepare for international CAPM® or PMP® certifications, and give the gift of learning to your colleagues or partners with our gift certificates.
February 23, 2022
Five Key Trends in Project Management
John F. Kennedy once said: "Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or the present will certainly miss the future." These words are as relevant as ever for project management. Change is driven by projects, and there are now more projects in organizations across the world than ever before. The pandemic that began in 2020 and technological innovations have changed how projects are managed in many organizations today, and they have also changed the requirements to project managers.
February 17, 2022
Ten practices for a good project management methodology
What do fishing and project management have in common? At first glance, they have nothing to do with each other. However, let's remember the well-known proverb: "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime". The same is true in project management – it is necessary not only to have a fish (to know good practices and frameworks in project management), but also to learn how to fish (to be able to organize projects, define an effective methodology and approach to managing a project).
February 9, 2022
Tailoring in project management
What do you think about before you start planning and organizing a new project? About stakeholders and their expectations, the development method, the team and risks? You are probably looking for advice or an example of what to do to make the project successful. Most likely, you are trying to find useful insights for a new project from colleagues with similar experience, refer to the methodology and PMO staff, or even search in numerous books and articles. After all, it’s human nature to always try to take the easiest path that will help us quickly and effortlessly achieve what we want.
February 1, 2022
The Three Traits of a (True) Professional Project Manager
Is it possible to be a professional without any project management certificates? Of course, it is possible. As well as being unprofessional, even if your Linkedin profile is full of certificates, like a veteran's chest with medals on a holiday. However, when we hear about someone being a professional, we hardly think about certifications.
January 26, 2022
3 Tips for Selecting and Prioritizing Projects in Your Portfolio
Every year top managers, PMO heads and portfolio managers are facing the need to select and prioritize their organization’s projects in order to allocate financial and human resources in the most efficient way and implement the organization’s strategy. Making the right choice among the many projects when all of them seem promising and valuable is like a lottery, if you rely only on personal judgment and intuition. Another lottery is using the methods “everyone gets an equal piece of budget” or by the “whoever demands more actively receives more” principle.
January 18, 2022
5 tips for starting a project and surviving information overload
Congrats, you’ve been assigned to a new project! How do you start your work? Usually, the first thing a project manager does is to gather the right information to better define the project's goals and how to achieve them. Thanks to modern technology and communication methods, now the project manager has access to much more information than ever before. At first glance, this is just great: different sources of information help to learn more about the industry of the project and the product to be created, and there are a lot of different tips and resources on the Internet about any project management domain.
January 5, 2022
Happy project day! (celebrating project successes)
The modern world fosters pursuit of achievements, project after project. At the end of a project many managers conduct a detailed analysis of the project’s weak points, sometimes not focusing on what went well. And sometimes neither the manager nor the team wants to spend time to celebrate their achievements and positive results that were obtained thanks to the joint efforts of the entire team. It’s a pity! ... After all, the project’s success is the result of each team member’s efforts, time, physical and emotional resources.